The Bonds That Shall Always Be
by RocknVaughn
Summary: Post 5X13. (Spoilers through the series finale.) Merlin thought it would be forever before he'd see Arthur again. He was wrong.


The Bonds That Shall Always Be

by RocknVaughn

-o-

A/N: Written after seeing the series finale. I literally _could not stand_ the idea of Merlin waiting more than a thousand years before seeing Arthur again. It seemed too cruel a fate, so I _had_ to fix it.

-o-

Merlin sat, cross legged, staring out onto the Lake of Avalon. Although it had been hours, his eyes never moved from the place where he'd last seen Arthur's funereal boat. His face was a mess of half-dried tears; hair sticking up at all angles from hands tugging at it, throat raw from sobs.

But now Merlin felt as if there were no more tears left, no more cries to be uttered. He just felt numb, incomplete…as if half of him were missing.

Which of course, it was. Even with all his magic, he was nothing without Arthur. Useless. For what use was a coin with one side worn away?

Miserable and drained, Merlin curled up in a ball on the shore, and let the soothing sounds of the lake in early evening lull him into an exhausted sleep.

"Merlin."

Vaguely, Merlin thought he heard his name being called. But that was impossible, for he was alone; achingly, bone-chillingly alone for the rest of his existence.

"Merlin," said the voice again, softly, tenderly, and he felt the lightest of touches upon his brow.

Startled, he opened his eyes and stared at the nearly-full moon above his head, and when he felt soft fingers carding through his hair, Merlin turned his head to find…

"Freya!"

He bolted upright, not meaning to break the connection between them, but did so nonetheless. She was resplendent in the dress she was buried in; her hair was lush and full, waving in the soft breeze. Her eyes were sad yet her lips were smiling. "Merlin," she replied, "It is so good to see you."

"Freya?" Merlin questioned again, not quite believing she was there, that she is _real_ after all of these years. "How…? What are you doing here?"

She looked down for a moment and Merlin's gaze followed hers. She was barefoot and standing at the very shoreline, but still in, or rather _on_, the water. She gestured to the sand in front of her. "Please, sit with me. I wish to speak with you."

She sat, resting on the surface of the water as easily as if it were the sand under Merlin's feet. Rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands, Merlin followed suit and sat at the water's edge, easily within touching distance. Freya reached out and clasped Merlin's hands in hers.

"You have been so, so brave, Merlin," she began, "Fought valiantly for so long."

At her soothing words and touch, tears that he thought he'd run out of pricked his eyes. "It was for _nothing_; all for nothing. I couldn't save him."

"Nonsense," Freya scolded, her hands slipping from Merlin's lap to encompass both his cheeks. Her thumbs wiped away the moisture trickling from his eyes. "You _did_ save Arthur…as surely as you saved me, Merlin. He would not have been the man he was without you."

"But our destiny…" he choked, "we failed. _I _failed."

Freya shook her head once. "No, you didn't, though not all of it has yet come to pass. As a result of your ridding the world of Morgana, peace will reign in Albion again. It will be united under Guinevere's rule. She knows of your role in the battle; she will, in time, lift the ban on magic…and it will be because of you."

Merlin just shook his head, his lips pursed. _This wasn't how it was supposed to be! He's not supposed to be gone!_

Delicately, Freya threaded her fingers through the hair at Merlin's temple. "I understand this pain you're feeling…but you don't need to feel it."

Merlin tilted his head up, somehow hopeful at her words. "Why not?"

She cocked her head to the side as she appraised him. "Did you learn nothing from Balinor in the Crystal Cave, Merlin? Arthur is not gone; he is simply not among the living."

Before Merlin could fully process what this meant, Freya continued, "I have brought you something."

She reached around her neck and extracted a long, intricate silver chain. On it was a beautifully worked medallion with a pattern he had never seen before. Grasping one of Merlin's hands, Freya pooled the chain into the palm of his hand. "It is a present for you, and only you."

"What…is it?" Merlin asked. It was magical; that he knew. He could feel the foreign power buzzing in his palm. He placed the chain around his neck and felt the power of the medallion hum through his body, sinking into his bones.

"It is a key; a key that will allow you safe passage to and from Avalon. It allows you to come and go as you wish, _whenever_ you wish."

"I don't understand. How does this help me? And why did you not give this to me before, when you gave me Excalibur?" Merlin asked softly, touching Freya's cheek. "I've missed you."

"Because, you did not yet know you were immortal, Emrys. Mortal humans cannot enter Avalon, cannot even _see_ Avalon, unless they are on the brink of death. And certainly, none may leave. If I had given you the key and you had attempted to use it before you knew you could not die, before you _believed_… it would have killed you."

Merlin had to smile at this. "I would have died because I _thought_ I could die?"

Freya nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Eventually, you would have realized the truth…but who knows how long that would have taken? It was best not to risk it while you still had important work to do."

Freya pushed herself to a stand. She glided rather than stepped back and then gently tugged Merlin's arm towards her. He stumbled onto the water's surface…but did not sink. Like Freya, he could now walk on the water.

"Come," she said with a smile, and then put out her hand for Merlin to grasp.

Merlin slid his fingers into Freya's and interlocked them. "But won't I be missed?" He indicated the outside world with his other hand.

"Merlin, you know as well as I that you can control time to your heart's content." Freya shook her head, amused. "No time need be lost if you don't wish it to be."

"Where are we going?"

"To Avalon." Freya grinned cheekily at Merlin…and winked. "I thought you might want to be there when Arthur wakes up," she teased.

Merlin froze in place, stunned for one long moment. Could he really have this? Could he? And then suddenly, everything his father had told him made sense. Just as Balinor's soul lived on after his body's death, so would Arthur's.

He looked down at the medallion as it swayed and bobbed against his chest.

While he and Arthur would have to wait for the time that Destiny foretold before they could be reunited in the same plane, it didn't mean they couldn't be together at _all_.

A burst of joyous laughter fell from Merlin's lips, echoing across the lake and into the night.

"And he thought he was rid of me," Merlin joked, his heart whole and full of wonder. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."


End file.
